Tuesday, November 23, 2010

New Manager, New Roles for Hojo and Niemann

According to ESPN NY, Sandy Alderson confirmed that hitting coach Howard Johnson would not remain on the major league staff, but would continue to have a role in the organization. The only major league staff holdovers will be pitching coach Dan Warthen and third base coach Chip Hale.

Terry Collins acknowledged interest in Larry Bowa, but clearly indicated he would not be the bench coach. Collins joked that he needed a Type B bench coach to balance out his personality. That could bode well for even-keeled Triple-A manager Ken Oberkfell.

Collins pledged to have diversity on his staff as well as balance promoting staff from the minors and hiring from outside.

"I've got a lot of names," Collins said. "Sandy and I already have talked this morning briefly. No. 1, certainly I'm going to bring in somebody with a different personality than me as the bench coach. We don't need two of us on that bench like this. So we're going to change that."

On Bowa, Collins said: "I talked to Larry. He's a great friend. And I'm going to call Larry about some things. But I wanted Chip to be back. I know he did a great job. I'm going to bring somebody up from the minor leagues. I want to bring in some other people. I want to have a diverse staff. I think it's important to have that. ... We can't stop teaching. So I've got to have some guys who can work. This is a work-in-progress. I want coaches who have the ability to work and can get this done."

Asked if former bench coach Dave Jauss would assume Collins' role as minor league field coordinator, Alderson said: "That's something we haven't finalized."

Alderson said the next hitting coach could come from inside or outside organization, but "I'd like to spend some time in trying to get the right fit."